Body looks flabby but low body fat

I'm 6'1.5", 18, and used to be 210 lbs. Over the course of two years (most of it in the first few months) I lost weight down to 160-170lbs through a lot of exercise (cardio and weights) and very healthy eating. However, despite all this my stomach still stuck out, my chest was flabby and overall my body seemed "loose" and kind of fatty. Although with a shirt on no one can tell this, it always bothered me so I increased my cardio, ab work and lifting to no real big change. Also, I kept my diet very strict thinking that the problem was I still had too much fat. I got to the point where I was 150 lbs and my body fat was considered dangerously low, but my flabby look still prevailed. Realizing 150lbs was too low I increased my weight to 165lbs, which didnt really change how I looked. Right now, I have the flabby look and have been told by some people that I may have to just accept this as my body type. Im not quite ready to accept it and am willing to do anything to give my chest and stomach that tight look. Any advice?

read this

um what you have is the skinny fat syndrome. ive had it . im still a tad bit skinny fat but now im at 16.09 from 17 % within 6weeks. i lost weight like you did. maybe you didnt reaise while you were losing weight that you were losing more muscle than you were losing weight...maybe u were eating less than you shud be eatiing which happened to me previously when i tried cutting...another thing...if you lost that weight really fast within the first few months and thats what was more muscle hence=flab. dont worry man. im pretty much in the same boat as u. im doing it and its working for me really well (thank God). a few articles id advice are the ones about rippetoes programme (overall body workout:helps lose weight, decrease bf level and increases strength without the need of cardio). another thing is to find out your bmr which would enable you to find out how much you can eat without losing muscle....take progress pictures...another thing is that being skinny fat you might feel frustrated about the weight on the scale not going down though your clothes will feel loose (thts happening to me) be patient and stick to a diet. its my 6th week now. from 75 kgs ive come down to 71.9 and my waist is now 32 inches...i still have to lose some more weight and drop the bf level but i know itll work out. oh and dont be scared of cheat days. i dont care what others say it DOES HELP! lol. ive seen and felt it. so yeah good luck and OH one last thing. skinny fat ppl are ectomorphs (look it up) with high stress levels which triggers catabolic toxins (i think thats the word) into the body which affects muscle negatively. be CAREFREE and dont take life too seriously... i know thts a very general advice but it applies greatly to ppl like yourself and i.

I'm 6'1.5", 18, and used to be 210 lbs. Over the course of two years (most of it in the first few months) I lost weight down to 160-170lbs through a lot of exercise (cardio and weights) and very healthy eating. However, despite all this my stomach still stuck out, my chest was flabby and overall my body seemed "loose" and kind of fatty. Although with a shirt on no one can tell this, it always bothered me so I increased my cardio, ab work and lifting to no real big change. Also, I kept my diet very strict thinking that the problem was I still had too much fat. I got to the point where I was 150 lbs and my body fat was considered dangerously low, but my flabby look still prevailed. Realizing 150lbs was too low I increased my weight to 165lbs, which didnt really change how I looked. Right now, I have the flabby look and have been told by some people that I may have to just accept this as my body type. Im not quite ready to accept it and am willing to do anything to give my chest and stomach that tight look. Any advice?

I can understand where you come from on this. Sense there seems to be some quite the guru's in here I feel like over the last year has been crappy. I started on this site at 18% bf. I am now at 9.5 % BF with pinch calipers and do lift weights and yes I can bench 315lbs. and squat your 300lbs and do around 25 perfect dead hand pull ups. However to me I lack chest size and core reflection. Look to my profile on progress pictures from when I joined til now. I see now real difference. I eat Something high in protien every 3 hours and Watch Carb intake and Cal intake. Nothin to excesive. And I do atleast 30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week. I would like to watch this post and any advice I'm open to any suggestions.

I can understand where you come from on this. Sense there seems to be some quite the guru's in here I feel like over the last year has been crappy. I started on this site at 18% bf. I am now at 9.5 % BF with pinch calipers and do lift weights and yes I can bench 315lbs. and squat your 300lbs and do around 25 perfect dead hand pull ups. However to me I lack chest size and core reflection. Look to my profile on progress pictures from when I joined til now. I see now real difference. I eat Something high in protien every 3 hours and Watch Carb intake and Cal intake. Nothin to excesive. And I do atleast 30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week. I would like to watch this post and any advice I'm open to any suggestions.

What type of abb work do you do? You look solid from compound lifts, but perhaps you aren't directly targeting the abbs enough.

I have found abbs to be a very quick recovering muscle. Nail them 3 times a week with weighted crunches, hanging knee raise with perfect form. Slow and steady without using momentum to help you is the key, squeeze the abbs after every rep. Cut out carbs then oil up to show off your prize below 10% bf.

You just sound like you're skinny fat. You're probably not getting in enough protein or lifting heavy enough.

Post what your diets like and your work out routines.

Originally Posted by Tigers21

I can understand where you come from on this. Sense there seems to be some quite the guru's in here I feel like over the last year has been crappy. I started on this site at 18% bf. I am now at 9.5 % BF with pinch calipers and do lift weights and yes I can bench 315lbs. and squat your 300lbs and do around 25 perfect dead hand pull ups. However to me I lack chest size and core reflection. Look to my profile on progress pictures from when I joined til now. I see now real difference. I eat Something high in protien every 3 hours and Watch Carb intake and Cal intake. Nothin to excesive. And I do atleast 30 minutes of cardio 4 days a week. I would like to watch this post and any advice I'm open to any suggestions.

What kind of cardio do you do? I would knock that off for a while or maybe do it 1-2x a week of HIIT.

Sometimes people have to be in lower body fat percentages than others to look more defined. Also I've found that some of those pinch calipers can be a little off.

I would just keep doing what you're doing and see what you look like at 5-6%.

You look a lot like me right now and I'm about 11-13%bf. I think genetics also play a role.
Do you drink a lot of water? If not, your body may be holding onto some of that. You mentioned you watch your carbs, how much do you get in? You may be carb sensitive.

Do you keep your chest and ab exercises varied?

Last edited by MadeUnderground; 11-09-2009 at 02:32 AM.

"Life's not a bitch. Life is a beautiful woman. You only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy. Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests, or maybe you're just an ******* who couldn't sweet talk the princess." - Aesop Rock, "Daylight".

"Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you will ever own." - Baz Luhrmann.

Over the summer I was running 2-4 miles a day and biking for 20 minutes on 2 mile days, daily abs, lifting weights 6 times a week (2 muscle groups a day, doing about 5-6 mostly isolation exercises per part, and was eating very healthy. My typical diet was for a day:
Breakfast- multigrain cheerios with skim milk
Lunch- Peanutbutter sandwich on whole wheat, apple, lots of water, raisins
Sanck 1- handful of almonds
Snack 2- fat free yogurt
Dinner- salad, fresh fruit, a lean meat (maybe salmon, cut of beef, chicken, turkey), fresh veggies, and some serving of whole grains (brown rice, multigrain roll, etc)
After dinner: another bowl of cereal, a piece of fruit
I was very strict with this, never eating junk food or even really compromising, not even on times like thanksgiving. After I lost the initial weight I was like this (at around 160-170) for about 1 1/2 years. My strength did fluctuate in this time period- I was never that great at compound exercises like bench or squats, but was fairly decent at the more isolation moves and body parts. I was also very good at things like push ups and pull ups.
Then, I came to college and kept the workouts up but was eating too few calories so my weight dipped to 150 lbs, taking all body fat and a lot of my muscle with it. I saw a doctor who told me I was too much underweight and was too thin (although my stomach and chest were flabby, my legs arms and face were very thin). Then for two weeks i couldnt work out and had to eat more which quickly got my weight up to 165lbs. This didnt really change my appearance much though, I didnt seem to add much fat just body weight. Since then I've been lifting 4 times a week doing splits but now focusing more on compound exercises and running about 2 miles a day and doing abs daily. I've also upped my eating a bit but still very healthy things ( I've started taking whey too).
Throughout all of this, whenever I take my shirt off I appear flabby and am willing to do whatever it takes to just tighten up. If anyone knows the answer Id be greatly appreciative? Is it a new exercise routine, maybe full body compound?

Also, Ive been advised to get my weight up to atleast 170lbs, but as you may be able to tell Im hesistant to bulk as I feel like I will only get flabbier.

You just sound like you're skinny fat. You're probably not getting in enough protein or lifting heavy enough.

Post what your diets like and your work out routines.

What kind of cardio do you do? I would knock that off for a while or maybe do it 1-2x a week of HIIT.

Sometimes people have to be in lower body fat percentages than others to look more defined. Also I've found that some of those pinch calipers can be a little off.

I would just keep doing what you're doing and see what you look like at 5-6%.

You look a lot like me right now and I'm about 11-13%bf. I think genetics also play a role.
Do you drink a lot of water? If not, your body may be holding onto some of that. You mentioned you watch your carbs, how much do you get in? You may be carb sensitive.

Do you keep your chest and ab exercises varied?

I had tried the no Cardio to help try to buld a little more. Wasn't doing any good. So I have returned to being on a treadmill for atleast 30 min. And yes I do drink plenty of fluids and I am trying to cut back On the Qty. As for the BF% I have been at 9.5 For the last 2 months. Carbs in a day are only around 200 For the last 2 weeks. I do try and agment the protein into deit as much as possible. Its stated through the forums that you need about 1g pere pound. And I think on average fall about 30g low to complete the amount desired. As for workout Program Currently for chest will follow:

I had tried the no Cardio to help try to buld a little more. Wasn't doing any good. So I have returned to being on a treadmill for atleast 30 min. And yes I do drink plenty of fluids and I am trying to cut back On the Qty. As for the BF% I have been at 9.5 For the last 2 months. Carbs in a day are only around 200 For the last 2 weeks. I do try and agment the protein into deit as much as possible. Its stated through the forums that you need about 1g pere pound. And I think on average fall about 30g low to complete the amount desired. As for workout Program Currently for chest will follow:

Although I am very careful about what I eat, I do not beleive I am anorexic or that my problems with my body are in my head. I asked a number of people around me to verify the flabby look that I see with my eyes

I'm in a similar situation OP but my body if flabby after losing 100+ lbs. It maybe loose skin, it may not but I think I'm more so than anything skinny fat and just need to build more muscle. I can't say the same for you but it sounds like your just skinny fat, you probably dont have much muscle and thats whats causing you to look flabby as you lose more and more weight. I think you'd be better off doing what I am, that is bulking and then cutting and hopefully the end result will be the body that your currently trying to get. I'll be interested in hearing about what ever you decide to do and your progress especially since it sounds like we are in a similar situation. Best of luck!

I don't really see any compound movements in your routine. Is there a reason for this?

One of the first things I would suggest is to start lifting heavy.

I'd do a split like Back + Bis, Chest + Tris, then Legs & Shoulders.

5 exercises for the big muscles (back, chest, legs) and 3 for the smaller ones. 2 for abs. So that's 10 exercises a day.

I would try to do all compound movements. I see you filled out stats for squats and deads and they look pretty good, so I'm sure you know what to do.

Deadlifts, SLDL or good mornings, cleans, snatches, squats and rows need to get in there.

I couldn't decipher whether you were doing 5x5 or not, but keep the rep range in 5-6 or until failure so you can lift heavy.
Sometimes I do 3x8 but only with a smaller muscle (tris, bis, shoulders).

Supersetting or performing a giant set is a good idea too, but I would strongly suggest only for the smaller muscles.

Anyway it seems like you're doing very well and you've made great progress thus far. I would change my routine and do something that utilizes lots of compound lifts, short rep ranges and lifting heavy and see how things look in a month or so.

Unless you're known to be carb sensitive, I wouldn't worry much about how much you get in. .8 x your body weight or 1 x your lean body mass is more than enough protein. Then just fill the rest with good fats and carbs.

My macros are 50-45c/30-25p/20-25fat. It varies because I just aim to get my EFAs and protein in, and then fill the rest with however much fats and carbs it takes to reach my calorie goal.

EDIT: Okay now I see that you said that was just your chest day. Still, even if you don't follow my advice above, I think the problem lies somewhere within your exercise routine. It just seems like your skin is just not tightening much and it really doesn't look like you're 9%bf (not say you're not of course).

Stop the LISS cardio for now and do HIIT 2x a week. You can choose several different machines for this, but personally I think running outside is the best.

Also another question - when you first lost all your weight did you lose it quickly? This can be a reason for all that access skin, in which case the only way I know of to get rid of is to bulk up and then slowly cut again.

Last edited by MadeUnderground; 11-09-2009 at 08:20 PM.

"Life's not a bitch. Life is a beautiful woman. You only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy. Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests, or maybe you're just an ******* who couldn't sweet talk the princess." - Aesop Rock, "Daylight".

"Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you will ever own." - Baz Luhrmann.

I don't really see any compound movements in your routine. Is there a reason for this?

One of the first things I would suggest is to start lifting heavy.

I'd do a split like Back + Bis, Chest + Tris, then Legs & Shoulders.

5 exercises for the big muscles (back, chest, legs) and 3 for the smaller ones. 2 for abs. So that's 10 exercises a day.

I would try to do all compound movements. I see you filled out stats for squats and deads and they look pretty good, so I'm sure you know what to do.

Deadlifts, SLDL or good mornings, cleans, snatches, squats and rows need to get in there.

I couldn't decipher whether you were doing 5x5 or not, but keep the rep range in 5-6 or until failure so you can lift heavy.
Sometimes I do 3x8 but only with a smaller muscle (tris, bis, shoulders).

Supersetting or performing a giant set is a good idea too, but I would strongly suggest only for the smaller muscles.

Anyway it seems like you're doing very well and you've made great progress thus far. I would change my routine and do something that utilizes lots of compound lifts, short rep ranges and lifting heavy and see how things look in a month or so.

Unless you're known to be carb sensitive, I wouldn't worry much about how much you get in. .8 x your body weight or 1 x your lean body mass is more than enough protein. Then just fill the rest with good fats and carbs.

My macros are 50-45c/30-25p/20-25fat. It varies because I just aim to get my EFAs and protein in, and then fill the rest with however much fats and carbs it takes to reach my calorie goal.

hey i believe a person like this is called skinny fat this is currently me too. its excessive loose skin due to rapid weight loss, malnutrition, lack of muscle weight.

i have a question when you say 5 exercises for big muscles how many sets for each? also its a 3 day split right? m w f and is 8 reps ok?

hey i believe a person like this is called skinny fat this is currently me too. its excessive loose skin due to rapid weight loss, malnutrition, lack of muscle weight.

i have a question when you say 5 exercises for big muscles how many sets for each? also its a 3 day split right? m w f and is 8 reps ok?

8 reps is fine. I just usually like to keep it around 5 because you'll be able to lift heavier.

For the big muscles, I usually do 5x5. But for the smaller ones, I giant set them and do 3x8. (Giant set is when you do 3 different exercises back to back with no rest until your done with the first set of each).

And yes, I generally do monday wednesday friday but somedays I may do it on other days if I miss.
Like today I missed because I had an exam to study for but I'll do my workout tomorrow.

"Life's not a bitch. Life is a beautiful woman. You only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy. Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests, or maybe you're just an ******* who couldn't sweet talk the princess." - Aesop Rock, "Daylight".

"Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you will ever own." - Baz Luhrmann.

Thanks for the reply
so for back/biceps day it would be something like this

5x5
Bent Over Row
Deadlift
Lat Pulldown
Iso lateral Row
Pullups

3x8
Barbell Curl
Dumbbell Curl
Preacher Curl

Yep!

"Life's not a bitch. Life is a beautiful woman. You only call her a bitch 'cause she won't let you get that pussy. Maybe she didn't feel y'all shared any similar interests, or maybe you're just an ******* who couldn't sweet talk the princess." - Aesop Rock, "Daylight".

"Enjoy your body, use it every way you can. Don't be afraid of it or what other people think of it. It's the greatest instrument you will ever own." - Baz Luhrmann.

there Is a workout schedual in the new men's fitness mag I think I am going to try. This should change up the routin And shock the system. I'll get back on what page it starts with But something any of us could do and see how results vary.

Increase Your Metabolism

Originally Posted by hrg217

I'm 6'1.5", 18, and used to be 210 lbs. Over the course of two years (most of it in the first few months) I lost weight down to 160-170lbs through a lot of exercise (cardio and weights) and very healthy eating. However, despite all this my stomach still stuck out, my chest was flabby and overall my body seemed "loose" and kind of fatty. Although with a shirt on no one can tell this, it always bothered me so I increased my cardio, ab work and lifting to no real big change. Also, I kept my diet very strict thinking that the problem was I still had too much fat. I got to the point where I was 150 lbs and my body fat was considered dangerously low, but my flabby look still prevailed. Realizing 150lbs was too low I increased my weight to 165lbs, which didnt really change how I looked. Right now, I have the flabby look and have been told by some people that I may have to just accept this as my body type. Im not quite ready to accept it and am willing to do anything to give my chest and stomach that tight look. Any advice?

Have you ever thought that increasing your metabolism would help since it burns all the excess fat even though we're sleeping? There are some strategies you can look up online. But I can highly recommend Christopher Guerriero's program since it worked for me. Hope this helps!

Always Looking for ways to lose the LOVE (handles) that is - http://bit.ly/48bj8y

wash it with water

Originally Posted by tommygustavo

Have you ever thought that increasing your metabolism would help since it burns all the excess fat even though we're sleeping? There are some strategies you can look up online. But I can highly recommend Christopher Guerriero's program since it worked for me. Hope this helps!

His program is really effective! I've tried it 17 months ago and I'm definitely enjoying the results. Just to highlight some, drink 1 glass of water every 20 lbs. of your total body weight. That speeds up your metabolism.

Maintaining focus in being healthy and active is like a diesel machine. - http://bit.ly/48bj8y